Notre Dame Law School’s Black Law Students Association honored Ndidi Massay, ’93 J.D., with the Alvin J. McKenna Alumnus of the Year Award on April 14 during BLSA’s 45th annual banquet at the Morris Inn.

According to statistics from the American Bar Association, Notre Dame Law School alumni who graduated between 2012 and 2016 are more widely dispersed than their counterparts from any other U.S. law school.

After his first year as a law student, Michael Hagerty, ’13 J.D., spent his summer hiking the desert trails of the U.S.-Mexico border.

As a research assistant for Paolo Carozza, a Notre Dame Law professor and director of the Helen Kellogg Institute for International Studies, Hagerty was trying to better understand the challenges of migrants and the governmental and societal responses to undocumented migration.

Jennifer Klute Hall, ’99 J.D., has navigated the politics of Washington, D.C., drafted major legislation that won congressional approval, and now serves as general counsel at a national trade association for the trucking industry.

And when she looks back at her accomplishments, she sees a few of the lessons she learned at Notre Dame Law School as keys to her success.

“Amy Barrett has been a beloved teacher and outstanding scholar,” said Nell Jessup Newton, the Joseph A. Matson Dean of Notre Dame Law School. “I am confident she will be a wise, fair, and brilliant jurist as well.”

Notre Dame Law School will host a panel discussion on Thursday to explore potential policy changes surrounding the Guantanamo Bay detention center, the use of military tribunals, and the related legal issues and challenges.

After earning his bachelor’s degree from Notre Dame in 1998, he taught English for two years at Holy Rosary School in Shreveport, La., as part of Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education program. Following his time in the classroom, he spent several years working on ACE’s administrative team and then helped launch a national education policy organization.

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee voted on Thursday in support of Notre Dame Law Professor Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Her nomination will move next to the full Senate for a final vote.

The Catholic Lawyers Guild of Chicago honored Patrick A. Salvi, ’78 J.D., this week with its Lifetime Achievement Award. The award is presented annually to an individual who has demonstrated a lifelong commitment to the Church and the bar.

NDLS alumni: you don’t want to miss our first NDLS Homecoming Weekend, featuring an old-fashioned tailgate on the DeBartolo Quad from 1 to 4 p.m. prior to the kick off of the ND vs. Miami of Ohio football game! The tailgate will offer an open bar with craft beers and wine and an unlimited buffet.

Rodolfo “Rudy” Monterrosa, ’01 J.D. and adjunct professor at Notre Dame Law School, celebrated the grand opening of Monterrosa Law Group, LLC, on March 9, in conjunction with the initiation of the Latin American Chamber of Commerce. Both entities will be serving the South Bend community from a shared location. South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg joined in the ribbon-cutting ceremony and welcomed both the Monterrosa Law Group and the Latin American Chamber of Commerce.…

More than 200 Notre Dame Lawyers welcomed Jack Swarbrick, Jr., ’76, vice president and James E. Rohr Director of Athletics at Notre Dame, to Chicago Aug. 11. The group included alumni as well as current and admitted students. Swarbrick offered an inside look on collegiate athletics.

When Brian Murray, ’11 J.D., worked as a staff attorney in the employment unit at Community Legal Services in Philadelphia, he saw first hand the long-term challenges low-income citizens face after having contact with the criminal justice system, and he wanted to do more to help.

The Chicago firm of Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard PC recently achieved more than $1 billion in verdicts and settlements on behalf of injured clients they have represented. The law firm is one of a select group of plaintiff law firms in the country to have accomplished this milestone. Managing partner, Patrick A. Salvi, ’78 JD, is joined in the firm by his sons, Patrick A. Salvi, II, ’07 JD and Brian Salvi, ’09 BA, ’13 JD.

On February, 25th, 2016, the Catholic Lawyers Guild of Colorado presented Brian Bates, ’79 BA, ’86 JD with the St. Thomas More Award and Maureen Reidy Witt, ’80 JD with the Lifetime Achievement Award. This marks the first year that both the Guild’s honorees were graduates of Notre Dame.

The Notre Dame Lawyers Club of San Diego hosted a sports and business panel discussion at PETCO Park earlier this month that proved to be a great success.

“It was fitting that the sports and business panel was at Petco Park because the event was a homerun,” said Juan Castañeda, founder of Castañeda Trial Attorneys. Castañeda serves on the leadership team of the Notre Dame Lawyers Club of San Diego.…

FBI Supervisory Special Agent, Thomas Olohan, received the FBI’s highest honor of the Director’s Award for Excellence in 2015 due to his work in a sensitive human source operation run jointly with the Department of Defense. Additionally, Olohan was honored with an Anti-Defamation League 2015 SHIELD Award for his role in an investigation that resulted in the incarceration of a US-based individual. The SHIELD Award recognizes major success in the fight against hate crimes, terrorism, and the protection of civil rights.

Thomas Ahearne, a graduate of Notre Dame and University of Chicago Law School, had risen at a powerful Seattle firm by working for business clients who took on insurance companies, often winning millions of dollars. Ahearne, upon the suggestion of a colleague, decided to put his litigation skills to work in fighting the state of Washington over education funding. Read more in the Boston Globe.

Donald Ward, partner at Ward & Ward in Indianapolis was named the 2015 Legendary Lawyer by the Indiana Bar Foundation. The annual Legendary Lawyer Award recognizes an attorney who demonstrates adherence to the highest principles and traditions of the legal profession throughout a career of 50 years or more. Ward has practiced for 60 years and currently practices with his son at Ward & Ward. Attorney Richard Eynon commented that, “Perhaps no other individual attorney has had a greater impact over the past 50 years in maintaining the integrity of the Appellate and Supreme courts, while putting aside self-interest for the best interests of Hoosiers’ justice, than Don.” Ward was humbled and honored by the award stating, “It is hard for me to believe that I can receive an award for doing the thing I have enjoyed doing for the past 60 years – going to the office and practicing law.” Read more.